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According to President(?) Donald Trump, the California wildfires could have been completely preventable. All we had to do was rake the forest!

On November 10th, President Trump tweeted “There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!” This accusation led to outrage by firefighters across America who are aiding in relief. According to an article by BBC, the president of the California Professional Firefighters called this comment “dangerously wrong.” Not only is he blaming Californians for the death and devastation of natural disasters, but he is threatening to cut relief to people in obvious need.

Trump, who has little to no experience with Forest Management, has no reason to even be talking about the fires. California has been recognized for having high quality fire prevention and forest management time and time again. Smokey the Bear even reminds us that only we can prevent forest fires!

Additionally, Trump’s accusations are impractical. He blames government forest programs for the fires, claiming that they could’ve done a better job keeping the forests clean. However, the Camp Fire began in an area that was scorched by fire only 10 years ago, and the Woolsey Fire began on a shrubby hillside. How can Californians possibly prevent fires in the most fire-prone area in the United States? In that case, Floridians should just prevent hurricanes; or even fend for themselves when a hurricane hits.

After speaking with the president of Finland, Trump concluded that keeping the forest floors clean and tidy and raked will prevent fires. He stated “…And they spent a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.” So, according to our president, we only need to rake the forests and we will be safe from fires. How does that sound, California?

“With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!” Our own president thinks that this devastating natural disaster is our fault. The only person who needs to “Get Smart” about this situation is himself.